Just for Fun: Mapping the Hornbeam Line

I've written extensively on the Operation Highlander blog about my dissertation on the Dhofar Rebellion. As regular readers of both the Operation Highlander blog and this one may have gathered, I'm fascinated by geography and maps. One of the things I tried to do was to compare the handful of available maps from the conflict with the various maps available through Wikimapia and Google Maps. Several years spent undergoing classroom instruction from the Marine Corps taught me just how critical a factor geography is to the prosecution of a military campaign, and my study of the conflict in Dhofar inspired a big interest in the geography of that particular campaign.

It took some creative work combining Wikimapia, PowerPoint, and Windows Paint, but I was finally able to find the final Location: Patrol Base Pipe
Coordinates: 16.882449° N, 53.759724° E
Remarks: Located using maps from In the Service of the Sultan by Ian Gardiner and We Won a War by John Akehurst. If location is correct, position appears to be abnormally small.

Location: Patrol Base Whale
Coordinates: 16.927313° N, 53.747848° E
Remarks: N/A

Location: Patrol Base Ashawq/Ashoq
Coordinates: 16.936920° N, 53.735703° E
Remarks: N/A

Location: Patrol Base Killi
Coordinates: 16.972069° N, 53.731915° E
Remarks: Site displays distinct square seen elsewhere at PB Reef and PB Bole.

Location: Patrol Base Killi (Satellite)
Coordinates: 16.975117° N, 53.733069° E
Remarks: Small position with circular formations located west and northeast of due center. Possible PB Killi satellite observation post.

Location: Patrol Base Reef
Coordinates: 17.005118° N, 53.743272° E
Remarks: Displays distinct square seen elsewhere at PB Killi and PB Bole.

Location: Patrol Base Kumasi (Site #1)
Coordinates: 17.029440° N, 53.727919° E
Remarks: Site displays several distinct "diamond ring" formations, which are artillery pits, consistent with Gardiner's map indicating that Kumasi was an artillery point. Located directly northwest of PB Kumasi Site #2.

Location: Patrol Base Kumasi (Site #2)
Coordinates: 17.028299° N, 53.731781° E
Remarks: Possesses features more indicative of a fortified perimeter than accompanying site. Located directly southeast of PB Kumasi Site #1.

Location: Patrol Base Bole
Coordinates: 17.063200° N, 53.680573° E
Remarks: Displays distinct square seen elsewhere at PB Killi and PB Reef, as well as apparent fortified perimeter markings similar to PB Ashawq and PB Kumasi Site #2.

Location: Patrol Base Bole (Satellite)
Coordinates: 17.063200° N, 53.680573° E
Remarks: Possibly a satellite observation post of PB Bole.

Location: Patrol Base Oven
Coordinates: 17.189088° N, 53.631102° E
Remarks: Located by following markings of apparent Hornbeam Line remnants northward from site of PB Bole.

By using Google Earth, or Wikimapia's Google Satellite and Bing Satellite options, you can see the actual "line" of the Hornbeam Line. Before I left Scotland, I had the opportunity to meet for a couple of hours with retired Royal Marines Brigadier Ian Gardiner, a Dhofar veteran and author of In the Service of the Sultan, and I showed him a slide deck I'd assembled detailing these findings. Based upon his book and our discussion, here are a few additional notes.

1) He believes that the distinctive square formations at PB Killi, PB Reef, and PB Bole were enclosures for livestock. I had originally suspected that they were helicopter landing pands, by a closer inspection of PB Kumasi Site #1 using Google Earth (pictured) revealed three helicopter pads. I also found similar helipads at this site further to the west, which I believe to be one of the positions from the Imperial Iranian Task Force's Damavand Line.

2) Brigadier Gardiner informed me that there were "two Kumasis". He confirmed that the "diamond ring" formations are the remnants of artillery pits. It looks like one of the sites was the main patrol base, and the adjacent position was the gunnery section.

3) In both his book and during our conversation, Brigadier Gardiner mentioned that the line is probably still dangerous since various factors ranging from weather, to animals, to insurgents tended to relocate the land mines that gave the Hornbeam Line its teeth. He mentions in his book that much of the barbed wire has been repurposed by the locals for their own animal enclosures.

A little bit of work on Google Earth following Operation Irene was eye-opening. It showed me just how steep some of those slopes are, as well as how deceptive some of the overhead visuals are. There were several positions that looked to me like they were down in depressions or gullies, when they're actually all on pretty high ground.

My efforts will continue as I have time. I'd like to find the rest of the Damavand Line, and some other terrain features.

Just for Fun: The Sporkful on War Zone Eating

This post is just for fun. Sometimes, I enjoy listening to The Sporkful podcast, which is about food. It's kind of an inside joke, as my perpetual boss once bought me a titanium spork, which replaced an MRE spoon I'd been using to eat lunch at work since I'd gotten there. (It may have actually been the second MRE spoon - those things are great, but they're not indestructible.) Anyway, a couple of months ago, The Sporkful did a pretty entertaining podcast on "War Zone Eating", and even though it's not directly related to risk management, I figured I'd share it in the "just for fun" category.

My own tenure overseas didn't involve a single MRE, much to my chagrin. However, an earlier era of my career involved a lot of MREs. My favorite tip for eating an MRE involves the packaging for most of your main courses. The packaging wants you to open it at the top, where there are two perforations. Resist that urge! Instead, turn the packaging ninety degrees, then take out your favorite blade - a KA-BAR will do the trick, but something smaller like a CRKT M4-02W is a lot better suited to the task - and cut along the long edge. This will make the "bowl" created by the opened foil pouch long and shallow, instead of deep and narrow. Guess which one is easier to get at with your MRE spoon? If you said "long and shallow", you're correct.

By the way, I can't recommend the titanium spork highly enough. It's unquestionably one of the best gifts I've ever received in my life. If you want to manage your risk of needing a great eating utensil under any circumstance, you can't go wrong with a titanium spork that fits into any day pack.